Oil & Energy
CBN’s Fund: N90.4bn Yet To Be Disbursed –ANEDC
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies (ANEDC) has said that a balance of N90.4 billion of the Federal Government’s intervention fund for the power sector is yet to be disbursed.
The Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers Committee in 2014 announced a N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) for the power sector.
The N213 billion facilities launched on Nov. 18, 2014, was to help offset the legacy gas debts, address revenue shortfall in the sector and improve electricity supply to Nigerians.
The facility, which was part of the initiatives to support the reforms in the power sector, was to be repaid within a 10-year period by beneficiary operators in the industry.
With over N120 billion already disbursed in tranches to sector operators by the CBN there were about N90.4 billion to be disbursed according the ANEDC.
On why the sector was yet to record a significant improvement in spite of government interventions, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of the ANEDC, Mr Sunday Oduntan, said the Federal Government had quite supportive.
Oduntan told newsmen on Thursday that given the current electricity market shortfall and the envisaged further shortfalls, the balance of N90.4billion yet to be disbursed would not address the huge shortfalls.
“When Government say fund has been made available to operators, it is true, but what people need to know is which fund, how much, what is the funding gap.
“We are not saying government is not making an effort, for example the major intervention fund that we had was a loan given by the CBN administered by the Federal Government.
“ Uptill now, they are still disbursing and not everybody has received it.
“As I am talking to you the balance that are yet to be disbursed is N90.4 billion that is the balance of NEMSF.
“It is supposed to be NEMSF 1 and NEMSF 2, but we are still on NEMS 1, that is yet to be fully disbursed.”
He said that the facility from the CBN and the huge debts own DISCOS by government agencies constituted part of the deficit in the balance sheet of the DISCOS.
According to him, the electricity market will experience further shortfalls.
Oduntan said that efforts should be made to save the sector through the injection of more funds.
“By the end of December, the total short fall will be N809.8 billion that is the industry short fall for the entire value chain.
“When you have these shortfalls, like this, monies that are ought to be paid and remain in the sector are not there.
He said the shortfall cannot be shifted to the electricity consumers in the form of increased tariff, adding that consumers could not afford to pay for a higher tariff with N18,000 minimum wage.
“ We will be deceiving ourselves if we the DISCOS think we can do something about it. The only thing that we can do is that government must look for a way of helping the sector further.
He said the stopped N309 billion bond that government planned to float would go a long way to help in addressing the huge market shortfalls in the sector. (NAN)
The Nigerian Navy Units under the auspices of Operation Delta Sanity says it has recorded significant successes against crude oil theft and illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta.
The Navy, in an updated operations, said the successes were recorded between Thursday August 29 and Monday September 2, 2024.
According to the information, on 29th August, seven large cotonou and two fibre boats operated by heavily armed oil thieves loading crude oil from an illegal loading point around Botokiri axis of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State were seized.
Also, on 31st August, six suspected crude oil thieves with 109 sacks of illegally refined petroleum products, four fibre boats and two wooden boats were arrested and seized along Ogboinbiri-Kasama-Azama-Isoni of Bayelsa State.
Again, on 1st September, two wooden boats and 328 sacks of illegally refined automated Gas Oil were seized at Otuogori community’s river bank in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Additionally, on 2nd September, 35 sacks of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in a wooden boat were seized at Gbaraun area of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
These successes indicate the effectiveness of Operation Delta Sanity, and the resolve of the Nigerian Navy to sustain current efforts to rid Nigeria’s maritime environment of the menace of crude oil theft and enhance crude oil production for the overall growth of the economy.
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc. has clarified that the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Federal Government, including the military, owed the power distribution company N42billion as the cost of electricity consumed and not N144billion.
The Bureau of Public Enterprise(BPE), disclosed this in a Statement signed by the Head, Public Communications, Amina Othman, at the Weekend.
According to the Statement, the Disco affirmed that its total outstanding debt was N144billion, of which the MDAs and the military owe N42billion.
“The Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc has clarified that contrary to earlier reports, the aggregate outstanding debt owed by consumers is N144billion, out of which, ministries, departments, and agencies including the military owe N42billion”, Othman stated.
The Statement said this was against prior reports that the MDAs, including the army, police, and other government agencies, were owing N144billion and had refused to pay.
The Disco said, “the clarification became necessary for proper reportage on the matter and to put the records straight”, it stated.
Recall that during a recent oversight visit by members of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, led by its Chairman, Ibrahim, the Acting Managing Director of the EKEDC, Mrs. Rekhiat Momoh, among other things, informed the members about the legacy debts owed the company by MDAs.
The committee had reported the acting MD as stating that the company was owed N144billion by MDAs within its operational area, saying she mentioned that the military, police, and various state government agencies failed to settle their debts, creating financial difficulties for the distribution company.
Energy infrastructure, a crucial part of global oil and gas supply and the energy transition, are set to get a boost after a heavy lifting equipment provider unveiled the world’s strongest crane-equipment capable of lifting 6,000 tons, or 15 fully loaded Boeing 747 aircraft.
Dutch heavy lifting and transport services company Mammoet has launched a new type of crane, the SK6,000, which, the firm said, could be used for modules to be built faster and also “bigger than ever before”.
As oil and gas continue to be a key part of the world’s energy system—and likely will continue for decades to come—and as renewable energy developers aim for bigger wind turbines, the support equipment for installing oil and gas platforms, offshore wind equipment, and even nuclear power stations is becoming bigger.
Bigger cranes such Mammoet’s SK6,000 could remove some of the limitations of engineering and construction firms. These firms are generally limited by how much weight can be lifted when installed on a platform or turbine.
Cranes that can carry 5,000 tons and more can shorten the time of a project being erected on a site, onshore or offshore, Mammoet says.
“Limitations on lifting capacity force engineers to fabricate smaller modules than would be optimal; tying up site space and increasing the complexity and duration of projects,” the company notes.
“This limitation can also narrow the execution choices available during each project’s planning stage and the percentage of each project that can be executed locally.”
These days, energy companies and their contractors seek faster deployment of energy infrastructure, be it wind turbines or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels and platforms for oil and gas production.
“There are so many supply chain constraints at the moment that need to be de-bottlenecked,” Gavin Kerr, Mammoet’s director of global services, told Bloomberg, commenting on the new crane.
“The bigger everything gets, you need bigger cranes.”
Moreover, the SK6,000 is containerised and can be assembled quickly on-site. This feature allows it to deliver heavy lift capability wherever it is needed, giving contractors greater flexibility in where and how energy projects are completed” Mammoet said.
“With the innovation of the SK6,000 crane, our customers can think bigger than ever before; pushing modules beyond the 4,000t and even 5,000t barriers. Its low ground bearing capacity also means the crane can be used all over the world”, said Mammoet’s Sales Director Giovanni Alders.
“With its long outreach, small minimum footprint and relatively small site impact, the SK6,000 greatly reduces the topside integration time.
“Needless to say, with larger building blocks you spend less time connecting and testing, and more time producing” Alders added
Energy companies do need faster permit-to-production times in both oil and gas and renewable energy to provide the conventional and green energy sources the world will need.
Wind turbine technology is evolving and making the hub height increasingly taller. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, the hub height for utility-scale land-based wind turbines has surged by 83per cent since 1998–1999, to about 103.4 meters (339 feet) in 2023. That’s taller than the statue of Liberty.
The average hub height for offshore wind turbines in the United States is projected to grow even taller from 100 meters (330 feet) in 2016 to about 150 meters (500 feet), or about the height of the Washington Monument, in 2035, DOE said.
In the oil and gas industry, new resource development is needed as demand for LNG grows and legacy oilfields mature and output declines.
If contractors can bring energy projects on stream faster, both oil and gas supply and the energy transition will benefit.
By: Charles Kennedy
